Home Minister Amit Shah launched a sharp attack on both LDF and UDF, alleging that “LDF stole the gold and UDF helped to sell it”, and asserted that both “looters and helpers will go to jail together” if the BJP comes to power. Framing the contest as one against corruption and appeasement politics, he said the NDA stands for “Justice to all, appeasement to none” and expressed confidence that the political landscape of Keralam would change in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Amit Shah said that both UDF and LDF opposed the Modi government when it banned the Popular Front of India (PFI). He added that Jamaat-e-Islami now supports UDF while SDPI backs LDF, accusing both fronts of practising appeasement politics. He further stated that both opposed the Waqf Amendment Bill, even when around six hundred Christian families were at risk of losing nearly 600 acres of land, and remained silent on the issue. According to him, despite projecting rivalry, both fronts join hands outside Keralam and function in tandem, which, he claimed, is evident from the Sabarimala-related issues.
Home Minister Amit Shah was in election tour of Kerala. He was addressing a public meeting in Tiruvananthapuram on the evening of April 5. After leading a roadshow in Kozhikode and addressing a public meeting in Kunnathunadu in Ernakulam district, he flew to the capital city and addressed a massive gathering at Kattakkada by sunset. The meeting was held in connection with the election campaign of P.K. Krishnadas, senior BJP leader and NDA candidate from the Kattakkada Assembly constituency.
Before beginning his speech, Shah invited all candidates from the district to the front row of the dais and waved to the cheering crowd along with them. Addressing the gathering as “friends, mothers, sisters and children”, he offered his pranams at the holy feet of Kattakkada Bhadrakali Mata and asserted that the NDA is set to form the government in the state. He highlighted the NDA’s growing vote share—from 14% in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to 16% in 2019 and 20% in 2024—and expressed confidence that the NDA would come to power after the 2026 Assembly elections.
The Home Minister said that Keralam has had UDF and LDF governments one after another. However, both did not do anything for the state. Whoever came to power left behind a list of corruption cases. AI cameras, Life Mission, K-Phone, Sabarimala gold loot, PPE kits, Rs 349 crore, and the Karuvannoor Cooperative Bank scam are some of them. If the BJP comes to power, the culprits of the Sabarimala gold loot will be jailed within two months. Modiji stands for governance sans corruption—no cheating, no vote bank politics. Politics is not for the prosperity of leaders’ families, nor for the welfare of party workers. The nation’s pinnacle of glory is the goal.
Shah said that the Modi government stands for infrastructure development. In Keralam, railways have now grown tenfold. Vande Bharat was launched in 2023, and now Keralam has got six trains. Rs 57,060 crore has been allocated for road development. Electrification of railways in the state is complete. Kochi has got a Water Metro. Keralam has already got a container port and also has a ship-repairing facility.
The Home Minister asked Rahul Gandhi what he had done for the state. Both Rahul and Priyanka were elected to the Lok Sabha from Keralam. Still, what did they do for the state? Their time is over. Congress is finished in the country. Communism is over across the world. He said the Modi-led NDA government is going to rule Keralam. He told the Keralites that the lotus will bloom here. He said that BJP got one MLA in 2014 and its first MP in 2024. Last month, there was an international AI conference in Delhi. Top officials from 80 countries participated, along with twenty heads of state. Rahul’s followers protested there, stripping in front of foreign delegates and media cameras, thereby insulting the nation. The HM said that Congress does not have to strip because they are already stripped.
Rahul says there is a petrol price hike here, but the poor man does not know that the price is Rs 458 in Pakistan. Bharat and Keralam are not affected. Rahul misguides the people. He thinks international relations and politics are unfamiliar to him, but Congress leader Sashi Tharoor says that India is on the right path in international politics.
The HM outlined development programmes for Tiruvananthapuram:
Rs 20,800 crore for Vizhinjam Port (completed)
Rs 8,000 crore for Phase I of Metro
Rs 3,810 crore for Sabarimala rail
Rs 1,300 crore Airport Terminal (completed)
Rs 1,340 crore Smart City
Rs 426 crore housing (more than 20,000 units)
He added that more allocations exist, but time did not permit elaboration.
Amit Shah posed a question to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan: ‘What did you do for the state?’ The answer, he said, would be obvious—‘Nothing’. CPM cannot do anything except change names. Modi’s PM Awas Yojana has been renamed ‘Life Mission’. When Modi provided rice at Rs 5 per kg, it was distributed in bags bearing the CPM logo. The Modi government does a lot for poor families. If NDA forms the government in Keralam, Rs 2,500 will be given to women below the BPL category. Free LPG cylinders will be provided during Onam and Christmas. All families will receive 20,000 litres of water per month free of cost.
The HM said that Tiruvananthapuram will be made the centre of AI, Kochi will be the shipping hub, Kollam will be the hub of the blue economy, Thrissur will be the cultural centre, and Kannur will be the defence hub.
The Home Minister said that Sabarimala looters will be jailed within 60 days if NDA comes to power in the state. Both LDF and UDF cannot stop corruption. They cannot create Viksit Keralam, Surakshit Keralam, or Modern Keralam.
The senior leader called upon the crowd to ensure victory, strengthen Modi’s hands, and establish an NDA government. He concluded the speech by loudly chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Vande Mataram, which the entire crowd repeated.
